[Swprograms] Sirius/XM Drops World Radio Network

[John Figliozzi <jfiglio1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sirius/XM Drops WRN on Channel 120

Posted on April 25, 2013

As of April 25, 2013, Sirius/XM satellite radio has dropped World Radio Network (WRN), formerly on channel 120, from its line-up of offerings.  As is always the case with Sirius/XM, the act was accompanied by no explanation or justification.  WRN had informed its listeners that such an eventuality was imminent in a posting earlier in the month on its web page.  There, too however, there was no explanation forthcoming.

This seems a curious move by Sirius/XM.  Radio is becoming increasingly a niche medium and serving those many niches would appear to be the preferred strategy for attracting and retaining subscribers to a satellite delivery service.  Music radio is in some jeopardy, given the competition posed to it by services such as Spotify, Pandora, etc., and its future as a prime program source would seem less than secure.  WRN is definitely a niche service with interest to the relatively small community of listeners seeking international news accompanied by international perspectives on that news.  Stating to listeners who complain (as I did) that they still have BBC World Service on channel 118 is a rather insulting response in that it implies that such listeners should be satisfied with one alternative on a distribution platform with over 200 channels.

“Spoken word” programming on Siriius/XM are accorded very limited bandwidth as evidenced by the satellite provider’s poor audio quality on those channels.  Little is saved in this regard or available for other services by dropping WRN.  It’s possible that a dispute over costs or full time availability could be the genesis of this act, but that is only speculation.

I have contacted both WRN and Sirius/XM for their perspectives, explanations and justifications; but I’m not at all sanguine about receiving an acknowledgement of my correspondence, let alone any useful details.  WRN remains available via other platforms, including via internet-delivered audio, the Tune-In app for Mac and Android and partially via WRMI, Miami on 9955 kHz. shortwave.  The latter has indicated that it may increase its carriage of WRN as a result of Sirius/XM’s decision.

John Figliozzi
The Worldwide Listening Guide
www.wwlgonline.com
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